Scolopendropsis castaneiceps, Wood, 1861: 11

Shelley, Rowland M., 2006, A chronological catalog of the New World species of Scolopendra L., 1758 (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha: Scolopendridae), Zootaxa 1253 (1), pp. 1-50 : 16

castaneiceps Wood, 1861:11 .

Holotype (ANSP); type locality: Texas, USA.

Original rank: species. Current rank and status: synonym of S. heros Girard, 1853 ( Kraepelin 1903, Shelley 2002).

Remarks: Wood (1862), Attems (1930), Bücherl (1942 a), and Sandefer (1998) considered castaneiceps to be a subspecies (= variety) of S. heros based on color, but Shelley (2002) did not recognize races based on pigmentations (they fade quickly in preservatives), having seen too few live specimens to evaluate color variation throughout the range of S. heros . Additionally, there are many color variants, and if three ( prismatica , castaneiceps , and arizonensis ) are accorded taxonomic recognition, then for consistency, all must be so recognized, which is impractical.